This sixth screen version of Choderlos de Laclos's 18th-century epistolary novel transplants the action to 1930s Shanghai, though if there are interesting parallels between the source material's indictment of pre-Revolutionary French decadence and the toxic pre-Communist China shown here, they're obscured by director Hur Jin-ho's predilection for insistent camera flourishes and dizzying opulence.

That's not an entirely bad thing. The glowing fabrics, the gold and amber hues of the interiors and the creamy obsidian undulations of the stunning hairdos are all visually delicious. It's just that after a while you'd rather be seduced by the characters. Seduction, after all, is a big part of what this tale is all about.